nVidia ION2 chipset to use G220 GPU, support DirectX 10.1?

Since Ion started to gain traction, we aren’t surprised to hear that ION2 is shaping up nicely. Given the license dispute with Intel, we weren’t surprised to hear from our sources that nVidia will support Atom and Core 2 architecture, e.g. FSB-based processors.

Core i3 and i5 remain out of hand, but our sources close to the company claim that there aren’t many issues around supporting AMD architecture instead. "We are a founding member of HyperTransport consortium, we were the first company to market with HyperTransport; remember that nForce 1 used HyperTransport between IGP and MCP on Xbox console in 2001, two years before AMD shipped their first HT-enabled CPU".

SATA 3.0 with its 6Gbps [750MB/s] speed looks a mandatory part for chipsets in 2010 and there is a question who will be the first out with SATA 3.0 support, AMD [SB800 series] or nVidia. Hardware-wise, journalists from Fudzilla discovered that ION2 will feature 32 shaders, double than the current hardware. ION of today is little more than a rebranded GeForce 8200, if anyone remembers that chipset [first chipset to lose nForce branding] – we’re talking about a two and half year old design here.

According to information from the nVidia’s official page for mobile GeForce chips, 32 GT200-class shaders pit this part as "GeForce G220M" or "GeForce GT220", above GeForce G210M [16 shaders, 64-bit memory controller, 12.8 GB/s] and below GeForce GT230M [48 shaders, 128-bit memory controller, 25.6 GB/s]. Given the integrated nature of the memory controller, you should expect following characteristics:

32 Shaders

DirectX 10.1 Compliant

Around 600 MHz GPU clock

Around 1200 MHz Shader clock

128-bit memory interface

DDR2-800, DDR2-1066, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333

12.8 – 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidthAround 20W TDP

You can expect this part coming at the end of 2009, in time for holiday shopping season.

About the AuthorTheo Valich

Focused on creating synergy between various industries, creating next-gen solutions.Passionate about the new and emerging technologies. Work experience spans from game development and event organizing, editing magazine and on-line publications to aerospace development.Specialties: Team Leadership / Management / Technical Consultant / Funding.Enjoys travelling around the world and meeting new people. :)